OK - so I've been in a rut - ribs, chicken, butts, brisket - haven't done anything new in a long time.

So I was wandering through Costco and low and behold they had pork belly! Never seen them before - I had read lots of posts about folks cooking them (other than bacon) so decided to give it a shot since they were only $2.29 lb. The plan is to put a bit of a rub on it tonight then smoke it at 250° to an internal temp of 180°.... or 200°... haven't decided yet.

Brought it home rinsed it, patted it dry and then scored the fat.

Mixed up a quick rub:

1/4 C brown sugar

3 Tbs. paprika

3 Tbs. fresh ground pepper

2 Tbs. kosher salt

1 Tbs. galic salt w/ parsley flakes (Lowry's)

Before applying the rub I poured about 1/4 C of maple syrup on each side - just enough to thinly coat it. Then put half the rub on each side.

Quadruple wrapped in foil and put it in the fridge for the night. I'll add more tomorrow!

Hey Bro...Straight out of the smoker, uncured belly is like eating a really fatty pork roast or ribs...BUT... If you can hold out, smoke it tomorrow, let it cool, press it between 2 cookie sheets or pans, with 5Lb of weight, in the refer overnight. The following day slice 1/2" thick slices and pan fry crisp on both sides, add topping as desired and enjoy on a plate or as a samich. This is the most common restaurant technique to prepare uncured belly. The texture is WAY BETTER! Firm but tender, juicy with the extra flavor of the crispy fat. Totally amazing...JJ

Ran my WSM smoker with 100% lump charcoal with some hickory chunks left all the vents 100% open so it got up to about 308°. Just going into the smoke.

....after about 5 hrs. I got to an internal temp of 190° so I fired up the Weber Kettle to do a reverse sear. I also brushed it with more maple syrup to glaze it with! Here it is on the Weber Kettle.

All total I was on the Kettle for about 20-30 minutes, then I pulled it and rested it for 2 hrs.... also wanted to let it cool down so I could slice it easier. Here it is after the resting, and sliced off and end to sample! Really tasty, but like Chef Jimi pointed out a bit like a fatty pork roast with a slight bacony flavor...... but I wasn't done there!

My ultimate goal from all this was to cut some thick slices and pan fry them then use them to make kind of a BLT! Here are the slices - also put some of the drippings in the pan fry them in!

A couple of minutes per side for a nice crispy finish.... also brought out the mild bacony flavor more! I ate about 3 of these while cooking the rest! They were sooooo goood!

Finished sammies with some oven fries! Can you say awesome!

I know what I'm gonna put on the side of my plate with some eggs tomorrow morning!

I really liked using the smoked belly in other dishes, we used it in BLT's, eggs and potato's for breakfast, cooked with onions mushroom and sweet chili sauce (Hawaiian style) over rice, and make al pastor burritos. That stuff was amazing!

Looks like it turned out great! It's a bit to rich for me but next time I pull out the smoker I need to cook the other half I have in the freezer! I even put it on the gasser to melt out more fat,maybe I'll try JJ's way!

Hey Bro...Straight out of the smoker, uncured belly is like eating a really fatty pork roast or ribs...BUT... If you can hold out, smoke it tomorrow, let it cool, press it between 2 cookie sheets or pans, with 5Lb of weight, in the refer overnight. The following day slice 1/2" thick slices and pan fry crisp on both sides, add topping as desired and enjoy on a plate or as a samich. This is the most common restaurant technique to prepare uncured belly. The texture is WAY BETTER! Firm but tender, juicy with the extra flavor of the crispy fat. Totally amazing...JJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef JimmyJ

Hey Bro...Straight out of the smoker, uncured belly is like eating a really fatty pork roast or ribs...BUT... If you can hold out, smoke it tomorrow, let it cool, press it between 2 cookie sheets or pans, with 5Lb of weight, in the refer overnight. The following day slice 1/2" thick slices and pan fry crisp on both sides, add topping as desired and enjoy on a plate or as a samich. This is the most common restaurant technique to prepare uncured belly. The texture is WAY BETTER! Firm but tender, juicy with the extra flavor of the crispy

What should the internal temp on the belly be when pulling from the smoker chef?